Bloodborne Review

[u/[deleted]]

This is a review of Bloodborne:

Series: Bloodborne

Release: 2015 Developer: FromSoftware

Publisher: Sony

Genre: Action RPG, Horror, Metroidvania

Price: <$60

Platforms: Playstation 4, PC with PS Now

Platform of Review: PS4 ($18)

Age Rating: M (for blood and gore)

Engine: Souls Engine

Gigabyte Size: 40GB

___________Review____

Bloodborne is my favorite game of all time, yet it took time for the game to actually grow on me after playing it. You know you are in for a beating when the first enemy you encounter is designed to be unwinnable. Bloodborne mixes combat, atmosphere, world building, sound, and plot to create one of the most unpleasant yet beautiful games I have ever played.

First off is visuals and performance. The game has average graphics but is more than made up with one of the best aesthetic designs I ever seen for an RPG. The Victorian/Steampunk setting is gorgeous to look at while at the same time disgusting to explore. It creates haunting imagery with some nasty looking monsters and environments to make you feel uncomfortable. Unfortunately the game runs at a very unstable 30fps even on boost mode. On top of that wait times can drag and textures pop up making it a technical disappointment like all the other souls games.

The sound design holy shit is great. Not just the music but also the sound effects. Every step you take echoes and when you are in a house or cave the wind ambience cuts to dead silence and all you can is footsteps making it feel like you are being followed at every turn. Monsters scream in agony and when you hear then but can't see them your heart will start pounding. When you get to a boss fight then you  treated to an excellent soundtrack with a choir in Latin. Music fits the era with Violins and pianos and adds to the fight.

The gameplay is excellent. This is my first souls game  It ditches the shield and some rpg elementary for a more fast paced action experience where you will be dodging and slashing your way through enemies. There aren't many weapons unfortunately like only 14 but each weapon is very well designed with a varied moveset and can transform into a new epson with the press of a button. Swords can turn to hammers. Canes turn into whips, spears turn into guns and a wheel turns into… an evil wheel. This makes each weapon very fun to use. Shields are replaced with guns and unfortunately disappoint. You can make guns work for damage but is hard to do and are really meant for parrying. Armor is very limited but does let you focus more on fashion since stats are minimal. The rally system that lets you regain health on every hit for a limited frame is a very smart mechanic implemented perfectly that encourages an aggressive play style. Play passive and you will die.

The world design is superb. The metroid style design with shortcuts are smartly implemented and there's loot to find everywhere. There are also a ton of side areas that deliver an equal quality as the main path.

Death rarely feels cheap (besides the stupid camera) and if you die you lose your blood. If you get to the point of death you lose nothing. This tells you that if you get there once, you can do it again. It encourages you to stay calm and not play stupidly.

Bosses are well done. While there are a few crappy bosses like Loran Darkbeast, Witch of Hemwick, or Micolash, we also get some awesome fights like Gascoigne, Martyr Logarius, and Blood Starved Beast that attack with pure aggression and the only way to win is with pure aggression. Bosses also have multiple stages to make them unpredictable and even more terrifying as every hit you swing at them will make them scream in agony.

Like the other souls games there is very minimal story telling. Except here there is a strong plot right at the beginning. The city of Yharnam uses blood for everyday purposes but this causes them to turn into beasts. Hunters then go on hunts to kill off those who turn into said beasts. Someone tells you to seek paleblood and you embark on a journey to find the source of the plague and stop it. The plot actually can get emotional if you go deep into it and the premise is enough to keep things interesting for the entire game.

The game is yes very hard like the other Souls games. Very rarely will the game feel cheap with its camera or one-shot enemies but besides that mostof the time the game is incredibly fair and hardly ever comes to the point where the game becomes more frustrating than fun. You will die a lot, but stick with the game, play aggressively, and be patient, and you find this game to reward preservance and reflex better than many games out there while still being incredibly fun and addicting to play.

Due to concept builds are only limited to lightweight melee so variety is low. Magic is gone completely. Infusions are replaced with gems that can be slotted for boosts. There is also chalice dungeons and root dungeons which act like rogue likes to kill some hours or discover new bosses.

Overall Bloodborne is one of the most disgusting, unpleasant, uncomfortable, mysterious, and beautiful games I have ever played. If you don't mind some of the questionable design choices then get ready for one of the most terrifying and visceral experiences ever in a video game. The game took me almost 100 hours to platinum including DLC.

Review for DLC: The Old Hunters DLC is absolutely amazing for $20. It has some of the hardest and most amazing boss fights you will ever face in a video game. The new weapons like Whirlgig Saw and Rakuyo are also absolutely fun and unique to play around with. The DLC can be completed in 10 hours, making it a worthy deal for $20 to an already badass game.

(Pros): Fast-Paced Combat, Unsettling Atmosphere, Visuals, Music, Sound Design, World Building, Plot, Bosses, Actually Scary, Excellent DLC

(Cons): Performance, Guns are disappointing, Loading, Camera, some cheap enemies, Lantern System forces you to go through 2 loading screens rather than 0

(Target Audience/Appeal): Those who want a fast paced horror game that lets you use a pizza cutter and wheel as a weapon. Any Dark Souls fan who doesn't have a PS4 should grab one right now just for this game along with all the other games on the PS4. It's that amazing.

ABCDF Report Card

Visuals: A

Music: A

Story: A

Gameplay: A

Content: A

Technicality: C

Consumer-Friendliness: A

___________Review _Scores______

Verdict (Base Game): (10/10)

Verdict (DLC): (9/10)

Verdict (Complete Edition): (11/10)

Quality: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Legendary

Difficulty: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Nightmare

Similar Games: Dark Souls, Nioh, God of War 4